Texas & Northeastern Mexico, 1630-1690

Description

Author: Chapa, Juan Bautista  (1627-1695)

Publisher: University of Texas Press

Pub Date: 1997

Binding: Paperback

Condition:  Good.  Binding tight.  No marks, tears, bends or folds.  Very light edge and corner wear.  Appears unused.

Notes:  Chapa, born Giovanni Bautista Schiapapria in 1627, in Italy, emigrated to New Spain about 1647 or 1648.  He became a local secretary, then secretary to the regional governor Alonso de Leon and served in that position until 1689, through several administrations.  While the title says “1630-1690”, Chapa’s version of events in Nuevo Leon, the northeast frontier of Mexico, probably began in 1650, after he began his secretarial career.  The 1630-1650 portion of the book was probably told to Chapa, or he had access to colonial records of the period.   Chapa participated in several expeditions in the late 1680’s into south Texas, going as far as Louisiana and Arkansas.  Chapa was the very first Chapa in Mexico, and all Chapas alive now are his descendants.